Friday, 15 April 2011

Za True White Plus Two-Way Foundation and Instant Brightener

Za recently launched a new True White Plus Two-Way Foundation SPF20 PA++ and Instant Brightener SPF30 PA+++. The previous True White Foundation was the no. 1 whitening 2-way foundation in Singapore for the past 7 years, with one sold every 2 minutes. The newly reformulated True White Plus foundation (S$20.50 for 9g refill; S$9.90 for case) contains a "Spotless Brightening Powder" and "Whitening C ingredient" to help create the look of radiant, luminous skin while helping to lighten dark spots and acne scars. The Spotless Brightening Powder is a blend of a lightweight flat powder that evens out the skin surface, and an inner lighting powder to help create a natural radiance. The Whitening C ingredient is Vitamin C Derivative APM, comprising Vitamin C and magnesium phospate (which helps to stabilise the Vitamin C). The foundation is available in 4 shades. I picked the lightest shade #20, which turned out to be a pretty good match for my skintone. The True White Plus Instant Brightener (S$15.90, 30ml) helps to correct dull skin, conceal imperfections such as spots, pores and lines for a beautiful pearly finish that lasts up to 8 hours. This can be used as a primer for the powder foundation. The Instant Brightener has a very lightweight, watery texture that is a breeze to apply. With cyclomethicone as the first ingredient listed, it's not surprising that the Instant Brightener has that slightly slippery, silicone-y feel to it. Below is the ingredients list for the Instant Brightener. After using the foundation and the Instant Brightener daily over the past week, I quite like the foundation but the Instant Brightener feels too silicone-y for me. I prefer primers that feel slightly more hydrating. The Instant Brightener does help the foundation to apply more smoothly but it didn't seem to help enhance the oil control. I do like the fact that it has SPF30 PA+++, so I'll probably save it for days when I'm spending some time in the sun. The oil control was average with blotting required about every couple of hours. The foundation applies quite sheer at first but can be layered for greater coverage. It helps to conceal the redness in my skin, minimise the appearance of my pores and makes my skin appear more even-toned. The finish looks natural and healthy. Oil control was average. I haven't used it long enough to say if it actually does help to lighten dark spots and acne scars but in general, using products with adequate sun protection will help to prevent skin pigmentation from getting darker and more prominent. At midday, I usually blot and then touch up with Ettusais Quick Fix Powder. For this look, I also used Topshop Solar Cell and Meteoric Duo Eye Shadows, Tundra Eyeshadow Mousse and Desert Sun Cheek Duo, Esprique Precious True Black Mascara WP (Volume Separate), Benefit It Stick, Majolica Majorca Perfect Automatic Liner VI 606, and Za Plumper Lips #2 Rosy Flush topped with Plumper Lip Gloss #9 Playful Pink. Below is the ingredients list for the True White Plus Two-Way Foundation. Both the foundation and the Instant Brightener are made in Taiwan by Shiseido. The ZA Cosmetics Singapore Facebook page can be viewed here.

hi Mandy,I'll try to do a post. I do have a ton of foundations but I haven't tried all of them out fully enough to give some of them a proper review.

hi,For me, the best part about this foundation is that it can cover up the redness in my skin. When my skin gets oily after a few hours, my pores become more visible and that's when I need to blot and touch up.

hi Pepper,For liquid eyeliner, I recommend Heroine Make Smooth Liquid Eyeliner (with the tapered brush tip) as it is very easy to use. Just work in small strokes from the inner corner to the outer corner of your eyelid. At the outer corner, draw it angled upwards to give your eyes a slight lift. You'll probably need to layer it a couple of times to get a nice defined line with smooth edges. For the lower lashlines, I usually just use eyeshadow smudged with a fine eyeshadow brush or a pencil eyeliner. Urban Decay makes very good eyeliner pencils that are easy to use. http://rougedeluxe.blogspot.com/2010/05/heroine-make-mascara-eyeliners.html